New Mediterranean restaurant ‘something different, something healthy’ for Hilton Head
Don’t ask Chef Hicham Elmadi to pick a favorite from the menu at the new Casablanca Mediterranean Grill on Hilton Head Island. He’s put too much work into each dish.
“It’s all good,” he told a reporter as he prepared basmati rice for Thursday’s customers, rattling off a long list of spices that magnify the flavor of the fresh ingredients he uses.
If he didn’t love a dish completely, he wouldn’t serve it, he insisted.
“Everything I have is homemade from scratch,” Elmadi said.
Casablanca Mediterranean Grill opened Nov. 30 at 1012 William Hilton Parkway No. 5, between U.S. 278 and Dunnagans Alley. The space previously was occupied by Pure Natural Market.
Elmadi and his wife, Intissar Rassis, spent the last year planning and renovating the space.
“We took down everything that was here and built everything brand new,” Elmadi said. The restaurant that will seat 34 inside and at least that many outside now has an open kitchen where customers can watch their meals being prepared.
Elmadi, 42, was born in Casablanca and worked in Spain and Italy. He spent three years working in Paris before being transferred to a hotel in Atlanta. In 2014, after more than a decade of working in fine dining, he was drawn to use his skills to improve the health of those who eat the meals he prepares.
He moved to Hilton Head and, for three years, worked as executive chef at Hilton Head Health, a nationally known weight-loss resort on the island. He returned to a more traditional restaurant setting as executive chef at Fishcamp on Broad Creek and then served as food and beverage director at The Bayshore retirement community before deciding to focus on catering and opening his own restaurant.
“I opened the restaurant for locals, people I know, to have something different, something healthy,” Elmadi said.
The dishes served at Casablanca Mediterranean Grill are traditional, drawing from Israeli, Turkish and Greek cultures but also Moroccan and Spanish.
“I traveled the world,” Elmadi says about the influences on the menu.
“We use a lot of herbs and spices: nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, paprika, all the good stuff,” he said, adding coriander, turmeric, mint, ginger and star anise to the list.
“We are using a lot of healthy spices that will make your immune system good and strong.”
The restaurant is not the only new venture for Elmadi in the near future. He and Rassis are expecting a baby in May.
The menu
Popular menu items in the restaurant’s first week include grilled Chicken Shawarma served with basmati rice, a side salad, hummus, pita bread and pickled vegetables ($14.99) or as a wrap with homemade chips for $9.99.
An array of kebabs are offered, including chicken, shrimp, lamb and filet mignon. Prices range from $14.99 to $21.99.
A sample platter of hummus, baba ganoush, grape leaves, pickled vegetables and falafel served with pita bread is $11.99, and a traditional Greek salad is $7.99.
Round out your meal with dessert, too. A slice of baklava is $4.99.
If you go
What: Casablanca Mediterranean Grill and Catering
Where: 1012 William Hilton Parkway No. 5 on Hilton Head island
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday
Phone: 843-802-0031
Website: casablancahhi.com
Facebook: facebook.com/CasablancaMediterraneanGrill
This story was originally published December 8, 2020 at 4:30 AM.
